AAP: FOUR Australian football clubs are currently among two dozen chasing slots in the inaugural FIFA-backed Pacific-wide OFC Professional League.
Four clubs from Australia are among those chasing a place in the Oceania Football Confederation’s first professional competition kicking off next January.
The OFC have revealed a total of 24 teams have lodged formal expressions of interest to join the inaugural eight-team league.
That includes six from New Zealand, four from Fiji, Papua New Guinea and Australia, two from New Caledonia and one each from Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tahiti and Vanuatu.
The competition is a pet project of FIFA President Gianni Infantino, who has vowed to increase standards and afford opportunities to the world’s least developed football region.
“It is very exciting for all involved that the response shows so many clubs share our vision and passion to develop professional football across Oceania,” he said.
While no longer a part of the OFC, Australian clubs have been invited to join to bolster the league’s marketability and audience.
It is yet to be seen which clubs are bidding to join the league, which will be run as several mini-tournaments in selected cities through the region between January and May next year.
The club application process runs through to June, with clubs assessed against various criteria before licenses are issued in September.
